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PC REVIEW - Myst III : EXILE

by Rainier on Oct. 10, 2001 @ 8:42 p.m. PDT

One of the most successfull franchises in PC history and undoubtfully one of the most impressive (graphically anyhow) games in the history of pc gaming MUST be the Myst series. Five years in the developing Ubi Soft unleashed Myst III : Exile ... Was it worth the wait? read the review and find out ...
In Myst:III EXILE you meet a new villain, a bitter man whoms homeworld got destroyed by Sirrus and Achenar, sons of Atrus and Catherine (whom you met and remember from previous MYST episodes). Now this evil man sees an opportunity to get back at you.

"So", you think, "just another regular adventure game eh?". Well, Yes and No. Sure, the story could have been pasted from any Story book but thats where the comparison ends. Myst is NOT your average adventure game. Pure visually it is a masterpice and then i am not kidding around.

If you take a look at the pictures you will see that they are of extremely HIGH quality, count in that you DO NOT need a 3D accelerator and that these are the kinds of GFX you will encounter throughout the entire game and one cannot be anything else but impressed.

You fully controll the game by means of your mouse and you dont walk around like you usually do in a adventure game. Instead you point where you want to go, click the mouse button and the current picture will fade away and transfer you to the location. I did not like it initially but got used to it after some gameplay.

If you are standing somewhere, you will not only have a zillion objects to look at (again, to investige something you just easily press your mouse button) but you can also look around in 360 degrees view and this really increases the feeling that you really are surrounded by the game.

What about the music? Well, the music is most EXCELLENT from start to end (although thats nothing I know of ;P) The music is there when you need it, and not when you dont. Same goes with the sound effects. If you open a door it almost feels like in fact you ARE opening a door. It so good it almost feels as real as when your girlfriend/boyfriend smacks you with the keyboard and although the game there is a 'reality' feeling, and its there, ALL the time.

Exile also has some real actors doing the playing, and they do a very good job. Normally I depise games using actors (mainly because I like real good anims instead of worthless C rated actors) but they are very good. Where most games fail on this part and almost feels ridiculous and embarassing MYST:EXILE succeeds.

Finally, Myst III Exile wont be loved by everyone. Its not a traditional 2D adventure but if you like solving puzzles in a incredible environment, OK. The game claims to be for all ages but I dont know about that. Either I am really stupid (No need for mailing your guess ;-)) or some of these puzzles are #¤!¤#¤#! hard.The game also has no violence in it and this is not a bad thing. Voilence is one ingredient that is not really needed here, the rich envoirment with details, music and everything else leaves no space for voilence. Or let me put it this way, who the f**k would want a fistfight (or worse) in Eden ;-)

Its been nearly 5 years since the sequel to MYST (RIVEN) arrived and the wait has been long for A LOT of gamers. So has it been worth the wait or a waste of time? Definatly worth it. If you are a fan of the previous MYST games, get this because there is no way in this world (nor another) you will be dissapointed.

If you are new to the MYST series but like hardsolved puzzels, like to drink enormous amounts of cola in wait to solve a problem, like to get up in the middle of the night because you had a dream how to (hopefully) solve something and of course to end all contact with the world? Well then, welcome aboard to MYST III : EXILE. Pull out the phone cord, buy a lot of fast food or other snacks and start boiling up some coffee, because you WILL need it!

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